Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said that the party put together its legislator-at-large list in meticulous fashion and he was certain it would garner interest and approval, despite the discontent it has generated.
Wu made the remarks at the meeting of party representatives, who voted on the revised list passed by the party’s Central Standing Committee a day earlier.
The list has taken into consideration public expectations of the KMT and the political situation in Taiwan, Wu said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The list is a balance of functionality and representation for areas including education, sports, public sanitation and medicine, immigrant spouses, the high-tech industry, young people, labor rights, civil servants, military personnel and overseas compatriots, he said.
Wu asked party members to be understanding that the KMT might have passed over some people, but it could only “correct the wrongs” of the current administration if it wins at the ballot box in January.
All except one of the 34 candidates were approved yesterday, with the exception of former Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), who received 19 “no” votes.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Cheng Mei-hua (程美華) said that according to party regulations, everyone listed after Chang would move up one place, while Wu, as the party chairman, would nominate a member for the vacated 34th and lowest ranking.
Asked about the votes he received to be a legislator-at-large — 127 for and 58 against — Wu said that it was normal to receive some “no” votes.
The KMT would be an authoritarian party if he only got “yes” votes, he said.
Meanwhile, retired general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) — who took fourth place on the list, despite criticism over his attendance at an event in Beijing in 2016 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) birth and standing for the Chinese national anthem — yesterday said in his introduction at the meeting that he “pledges to defend the Republic of China [ROC] for the rest of his life.”
The ROC is “the one founded in 1911 by the KMT and not the ROC Taiwan that [President] Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) speaks of,” Wu Sz-huai said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft